Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Mike Martin, Owner of Strong Heart Academy, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Phoenix Arizona, and third degree black belt, demonstrates side control.

Jiu-Jitsu Side Control

side mount, side control, maintain, Bjj, brazilian jiujitsu, jiujitsu, Jits, Gi

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BJJ - Side Control Submissions

Okay for side control. Uh, we're gonna go top and bottom. So from bottom position, we're just talking about hand position. He needs forearm on my hip. It's gonna prevent me from changing sides. Other hand is gonna be on my shoulder, forearm underneath my neck. My knees are as wide as I can go in the beginning. We're gonna start with our hand under the hips and one hand under the head. I want my hips as low as I can. Either sitting on my, um, heels. You could be on your toes as far or feet can be flat. Same as Mount. I wanna push his face with my shoulder and hand underneath his hips. My knees need to be touching. I do not want to sprawl. It's too easy for him to get away. So on my knees, my butt is low as I can, and I can actually push my chest to make it tighter shoulder pressure in the face.

BJJ

From here, we can transfer. My hand comes underneath the arm and I'm just gonna clasp my hands. This is called a Gable grip. No thumbs go over and same shoulder pressure, but I'm not flexing at all. I'm just pushing my shoulder forward. Many people make a mistake of like, try to squeeze as hard as we can. We're just wasting energy. Let gravity do the work for us from side control. From his perspective, he needs to be flaring his elbow up and making it uncomfortable for him to hold me and then pushing on my hip so that eventually he would get his knees inside to the fanning and try to pull guard again.

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Strong Heart BJJ - Student Principle #1 - Service

View all 8 Strong Heart Academy Principles to Live By.

So the first one is service and the way we talk about this is service to others. You know, I try to encourage the kids to, do community service and, and understand that you are part of a community as humans and helping the people around you.

So we give pins out, awards out for 10 hours, community service. And the goal is just to get you in the service mindset. And I know for myself, all the service things that I do, I mean, they hugely impact my own life. Not the people that I help. Like obviously they help the, the people that I help, but I get something out of it. There's something about being a human and helping others. And, what it does for yourself. Like you have a sense of gratitude, for the things that you have that maybe others don't. And, it sets a community, you know, when you're working with others. So we highly encourage service. I encourage this with adults too. And you know, my, we, we even say that, you know, I allow for these community hours of community service, some of 'em don't like, what, what can I do as a kid?

I'm like, you could pick up trash in a neighborhood. Sometimes we think if it has to be like this complicated thing, it really doesn't, you know, you can go at school, you could pick up trash around the playground afterwards, just ask for a bag. I guarantee you, the teachers will say, absolutely, I'll give you a trash bag. You go out there, wash your hands afterwards. And, and, and thank you. So these are just things that we, we try to encourage, encourage, encourage, you know, be a part of the community, help your community, help people around you. And I think that's something that we're missing right now in, in society is everyone's very me, me, me, me, and you're encroaching on me. And, and it's like, how about us? You know, us? And the other thing I encourage kids is to help their grandparents.

You know, America has a, a very strange relationship with grandparents. Um, you know, they're separated like a lot of countries in the world, grandparents live with you. Okay, now, now grandparents live separately. Either they have their own place or they're maybe at a, a nursing home. So I encourage, you know, helping your grandparents, wash their car, pick up dog poop at their house, help them with their laundry pick weeds. Um, there's many things that kids even young as four can do and get these, this, this helping your grandparents out. And, um, you should be, and your grandparents will love it because you're hanging out with them. Um, it's kind of the way I believe that things should be okay.